This month’s object has been chosen by Jon, the Caretaker at South Mill Arts.  Jon fishes at least twice a week and on holidays in Lincolnshire.  He fishes in lakes and has only once caught a Pike, in 2021, and it was 15lbs.  The biggest fish he has ever caught was a 26lb Common Carp.  He has never felt the need to save and stuff any fish but does have all his best catches on his phone photos!

The Victorian and Edwardian gentry were keen on fishing and taxidermized fish became a popular method of displaying their catches. The greatest Victorian fish taxidermist was John Cooper of Radnor St, Islington.  John took over the business from his father, also John Cooper, in 1872 and became a specialist in fish. The business survived, although under different ownership, until 1960.

The process involved removing the skin and preserving it in a mixture of camphor, arsenic, white soap and chalk. The skin was then stretched over a shaped mould and painted with varnish and shellac to give it a wet appearance. Our fish would have been presented in a glass fronted case.

We have no records of the owner and the object is not marked with a maker or any date.  Early Cooper cases did have blue backgrounds and reeds so that may be a clue as to its provenance. Its poor condition and fragile state mean we can only display it for a short time so please pop along to the museum if you wish to see it ‘in person’.

Information is taken from an article by Luke Honey for www.homesandantiques.com